Pushers for transferring plural glass containers onto a conveyor are well known. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,362 wherein fingers traverse an arc of about 90.degree. and push plural containers from a deadplate onto a conveyor. When the containers are on the conveyor, it is necessary to retract or elevate the pushers so that the second container does not collide with the finger pushing the first container. All fingers have a common actuator in said patent. Very exact timing is required for retracting the fingers and is attained by a cam control.
The modern trend of design involves computerized controls of components of a glassware forming machine. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,203,752 and 4,313,750 wherein the conventional cam is eliminated and electrical motors are utilized to oscillate the pusher. Eliminating the cam control requires that a new control be provided. Accomplishing such control of the fingers by electronics is possible but is complicated and expensive since each finger does not move through the same arc.
The present invention is directed to solution of the problem of how to provide control of the retraction of the fingers in a reliable manner at the proper time without using electronic circuitry or cams.